Before the Storm
by Wynjamor
Summary: Set two years before Stormbreaker, an adventure of Ian Rider. His mission, his life with Alex and his feelings about what he does. The Ian we never got to see. IanOC
1. Chapter 1

**Before the Storm**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"Hello boys!"

Jack Starbright's loud and cheerful voice met them as soon as they opened the door. Alex Rider ran down the hall of the London house and gave her a hug, and his uncle, Ian, dumped their bags on the floor with a grin.

"Hello Jack" he said. "House is still here then?"

"Of course!" Jack sauntered down the hall and gave him a demure kiss on the cheek. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was great!" Alex enthused, waltzing into the kitchen to find a drink. Jack followed, and took the carton of juice from his hand before he could pour it for himself. She motioned him to sit down and got a glass out of a cupboard.

"We climbed like…4000 feet" Alex continued. "It was amazing, you could see down the whole valley, and then we rafted back down the river…"

Jack exchanged a look with Ian, who had ambled into the kitchen and plonked himself on a stool. He unzipped his jacket and threw it in the direction of the living room sofa.

"So more extreme sports then?" Jack mused. She placed a glass of juice in front of Alex, who downed it in a few gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Yeah!"

Ian laughed. "Yeah, we just can't stop can we? Next time I'll take you skydiving"

"Really?" Alex was wide-eyed.

Ian shrugged. "Why not? It's about time you learned. Unless you're scared of course…"

"No way! When can we go?"

Ian laughed again. His nephew was all he could want in a companion – enthusiastic, athletic and intelligent, he was ready for anything his uncle cared to throw at him. It was a joy to teach the boy things, skills that were not only a whole lot of fun, but which would possibly help him to survive one day. It didn't hurt that it allowed Ian to brush up on a few things too.

Of course, Alex might never follow in the footsteps of his family…

When his parents had been killed, leaving the orphaned child Alex all alone in the world except for a single uncle, Ian hadn't known what to do. Of course, the boy had to be taken in and cared for, but as a young man himself Ian wasn't ready for fatherhood. Far from it; he'd just started his own career as a secret agent and had no idea what to do with the boy, let alone how to look after him. Luckily Jack Starbright had been on hand and had taken over without asking any questions. Ian knew she loved the boy just as much as he did.

If she hadn't beenthere, he didn't like to think what that would have meant for his own life.

Speaking of which…

"Look, Alex, I have to be off early in the morning…" he began. Alex's face fell.

"Again?"

"Yeah, there's a meeting I really can't miss… you know taking this weekend off made me get behind with things…"

"Can't the bank do without you for _four_ days?" Jack asked.

"I'm afraid not" Ian sighed.

"Well, I should have known" Alex said softly. "I mean, when was the last time you managed to spend a whole weekend with me?"

Ian's expression softened. "I'm sorry…there's nothing I can do. I mean it about the skydiving though. As soon as I get some more time off…"

"Yeah yeah" Alex said, standing and stretching his arms. "I'm going to unpack"

He left the room, and Ian heard quick footsteps on the stairs. He sighed heavily.

"That boy…"

"Misses you" Jack finished. She sat on the stool that Alex had vacated. "He's just a kid, and you're the only family he's got. You should try and be here more often"

"That's easier said than done" Ian explained. "I mean, I have to do my job. If I'm not there when I'm needed, I'll get fired"

Jack barked a laugh. "So you'll get another job" she said.

Ian shook his head. "What do you think pays for this house?" He waved his arms expansively. "Property in London doesn't come cheap y'know. And I still pay you the going rate..."

"I know! But still, you're always at some meeting or other"

"_You're_ here" Ian raised his eyebrows pointedly.

"I'm not his cool uncle"

Jack jabbed him playfully in the arm and jumped up before he could retaliate. "Now, can I fix you something to eat? You look famished"

"I am" Ian smiled. "Look, I might be able to get some time off in a couple of weeks. If I don't see Alex before I go…would you tell him?"

"Tell him yourself!"

"I'm no good at that sort of thing!" Ian protested.

The fact was, Alex reminded him so much of his brother he found it difficult to say goodbye. Spending time with him was great, but he was always reminded of what had happened so many years ago. And, of course, the job didn't really allow for soft feelings anyway. A mission was a mission was a mission, no matter how many nephews waited at home.

"Well, whatever" Jack said. "How about steak?"

"Steak would be lovely" Ian said, and yawned. "I'm knackered"

"Food, then bed" Jack instructed. "Where's your meeting?"

"The lakes"

"Up north?"

"Yeah"

"Fancy. Anything interesting? Any major deals, unscrupulous bank managers, enormous bribes….?"

Ian shook his head. "No…no, it'll be boring really."

Seeing Jack's look, he smiled. "Seriously. I can't think of a more mundane way to spend the next fortnight. Well…unless I had to stay here and do laundry or something"

He ducked as a bread roll sailed towards his head.

"Sorry. Tell Alex I'll call in a few days won't you?"

* * *

After his perfectly-cooked steak, Ian Rider dragged his backpack upstairs to his room and dumped it on his bed. His _enormous_ bed, he thought, regarding the room thoughtfully. It was odd really, how the room was so well-furnished and yet he hardly ever spent time there. The huge bed was normally empty, the en-suite bathroom was usually pristine and unused (unless Jack was spending an inordinate time in the shower and Alex was desperate) and the curtains were always half-drawn to keep out the heat of the day. The furniture consisted of bed, built-in wardrobe, dresser and comfy chair. There was even a window-seat. Tasteful prints lined the walls to act as focal points, and a large mirror stood on the dresser. Jack was responsible for most of it. The only thing Ian had chosen was the bed, because when he was home the thing he wanted most was an uninterrupted and comfortable night's sleep. 

It had taken all day to choose the mattress.

Now, he unpacked his backpack, pulled another, larger bag from underneath the bed and started to transfer things over. From a secure space in the back of the wardrobe he pulled various gadgets and stowed them in the bag. Another hiding-hole behind the bed revealed a sleek handgun, which with its holster went into the pocket of the jacket he planned on wearing the next day. He put everything on the comfy chair by the bed.

Just as he was beginning to undress for a shower, his mobile rang.

"Hello?" he said, unable to keep a tone of annoyance from his voice. _Should have switched it off... _he thought.

"Ian? It's Blunt"

"Oh, hello. What can I do for you?"

"Just checking you're all set for tomorrow. Didn't want you falling down a mountain and us not knowing about it, eh?"

"Erm...yeah" Ian said. "I'm ready. I'm always ready" _What's Blunt calling for anyway? There must be more than just checking I'm actually going on the mission..._

There was a silence on the other end, followed by a female voice,and then Mr. Blunt could be heard clearing his throat.

"Right, well, I was just calling to let you know, really, that there's an undercover Agent at the facility you're going to tomorrow, and you're not to expose them, or get in their way or anything..."

"What?" Ian saw his incredulous expression in the mirror on the dresser. "You didn't mention this before..."

"Ah, well, we only just found out. Anyway, that's allI wanted to say really. Just, don't get in their way"

"Wait a minute!" Ian cried, sensing Blunt was about to hang up. "Who is this Agent? What are they doing?"

"Erm..." There was more silence, and then a female voice continued.

"Ian? We don't know who the Agent is, or what they're doing, but we know they're there"

_Ri...ight..._ Ian thought.

"Hello Miss Jones" he said cheerfully. "That's some sterling information you have there. Could I ask where you got it from?"

"A source close to us" Miss Jones explained. "A very reputable source. They don't want their situation compromised"

"So...I'm to look out for this Agent, although if they're any good there won't be any clues that they _are_ an Agent..." Ian frowned. "Hang on, what exactly am I supposed to do?"

Mr. Blunt was back on the other end of the line. He coughed. "Erm...Nothing. Just letting you know, in case..."

"In case?"

"In case..." Another cough..."Well, Mr. Rider, I think that's about all. Have a...ahem, a good night"

The line went dead. Ian stared at his phone for a few seconds, then shook his head to clear it.

"Barmy" he whispered.

Throwing the phone onto his bed in disgust, he pulled off the rest of his clothes, set hisbedside alarm for 0630,and headed for the shower.

* * *

A/N: Very short I know, but there is more to come. It's about time there was an Ian/OC, yes? Let me know if you think it's a good idea...! 


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

The drive to the Lakes was long, over 200 miles, and it was lunchtime when Ian's BMW finally pulled up outside the facility nestled in the craggy hills of the Lake District. The car's sat nav had experienced some trouble with the narrow, winding, hilltop-hugging roads, and Ian was just relieved to have made it in one piece. Sometimes he wondered if a good old-fashioned map would serve its purpose better than the high-tech gadget.

_Nah!_ he decided, and smiled. The sat nav was a nice toy.

"I like the car" A male voice greeted him as soon as his door was open. Ian stood and regarded the man openly, his expression friendly.

"Thanks" he said. "I'm Luke Bosworth"

"Charles Hansom. We've been expecting you"

He held out his hand for Ian to shake. He was a tall man, with greying hair, and he wore a lab coat over a comfortable jumpers, cord trousers and brown loafers. Thick glasses were perched on his head. He looked every inch the pleasant scientist.

_Or librarian_ Ian mused.

"How was your drive?" Charles asked, leading him towards the building. Ian made some small-talk answer while he followed the scientist, subtly checking out the building as much as he could.

Built into the hillside at the end of a steep and winding road, the facility couldn't been seen from the air, or indeed from very far away overland. It was a dull green-grey colour to blend into the landscape, and unless you knew what you were looking for, the eye woulddrift over it without noticing a thing.

There were, Ian knew, many such places dotted around the country. Government records had to be kept somewhere secure, as did other sensitive information. This particular facility, however, didn't belong to the government. It belonged to a private multinational, who used it as a scientific research base. It was underground, secure, and its staff were highly qualified and vetted and behaved with the utmost discretion.

Which was why a number of bribes had failed, and MI6 needed an agent on the inside. Ian had the relevant qualifications once he'd taken over the role of 'Luke Bosworth'. A graduate of Cambridge, Bosworth had been killed in a car accident just a month previously. He'd applied for a position at the facility as a lab technician only a few weeks before his death, but hadn't got the job. The successful applicant had met with his own unfortunate death a week later and Luke Bosworth, now looking thinner, healthier and somewhat blonder, had agreed to take his place. Luckily, the recruiting officer was based in America and had no plans to visit the Lake District facility anytime soon.

Just inside the heavy concrete doorway Ian found himself in a small lift compartment.

"Going down" Hansom said, and the lift lurched slightly as it began its descent.

Ian knew that the shaft was 120 feet deep, but he counted the time it took to make the descent anyway, just to make sure. The doors finally opened onto a long corridor with strip lighting, doors opening off it at regular intervals.

"I'll give you the tour now" Hansom said, motioning Ian to go first. "And then you can have some lunch. This place may look grim but we eat well"

"Good" Ian grinned. "I'm starving"

"Tour won't take long" Hansom assured him. "I can only show you the areas you have clearance for. That's….Lab 1, the Supply Room where you'll be working, sleeping quarters, the gym, and the canteen. Not much really…" He glanced at Ian. "Uh…sorry. You only have level four clearance"

"Don't worry" Ian said. "I only need level four clearance. I'm just a technician!"

Hansom laughed softly. "Yes…well, this way!"

* * *

Ten minutes later Ian had seen the few rooms Hansom had listed. If they were to be his life for the next few weeks, he was going to have to think of ways to pass the time. Staring at the same featureless walls and wandering the same few corridors would drive him crazy if he wasn't careful.

Luckily, he'd packed his walkman. Unluckily, his portable television almost certainly wouldn't receive a signal at this depth.

Every door in the complex had a card machine, into which a key card had to be inserted for the door to open. Ian's card would only open the doors he had clearance for, so even if he knew what was behind every door, he wouldn't be able to get through them without some trickery. He already had a mental map of the place, that had been included in the case file. He was glad to note that everything he saw matched with that plan. However, it was still going to be difficult to move around outside of his designated work areas.

"Well, that's the tour" Hansom opened another blank door onto a large grey room. "This is the canteen"

The room had the same yellowish strip lighting as the rest of the facility, the kind that hurt your eyes after too long spent in it, and gave everyone's skin a sickly pallor. Metal tables were bolted to the floor at regular intervals, with metal chairs scattered around them. A long counter at one end was manned by men wearing blue hairnets, and the smell of food made Ian's stomach grumble.

"I have to be off" Hansom said, "so make yourself… oh, Scott!"

A young man in a lab coat who had stepped past them stopped and turned. "Yes Mr. Hansom?"

"Scott, this is Luke Bosworth, the new technician…"

Scott smiled. "Hello"

"Hello" Ian took the proffered hand. Scott was light-haired, dark-eyed and slender, a couple of inches shorter than Ian. He looked like a student, he still had acne which looked worse than it probably was under the garish lighting.

"Can I leave him in your capable hands?" Hansom was saying. "It's his first day"

"Sure" Scott nodded and waved at Ian. "This way"

He led the way to the food counter, grabbed a plate, shoved another at Ian, and looked the older man up and down openly.

"You don't look much like a technician"

Ian raised an eyebrow. _Surely my cover hasn't been blown already? _Thoughts of the 'other agent' Blunt had mentioned flitted across his mind.

"Oh?" he said. "Well, I haven't put my lab coat on yet. Or my glasses…"

Scott grinned. "Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, you look too normal. You should see some of the freaks that work here"

Ian smiled, inwardly relieved. It was probably a compliment not to look like he worked there.

"Yeah, we have some weirdos" Scott continued. "Lasagne please"

One of the blue hairnet men scooped lasagne onto his plate. "Not that it matters, everyone's pretty much working, all the time. Not a lot of socialising, y'know"

"Oh." Ian copied the young man in choosing lasagne and followed him down the table to get drinks.

"None at all?" he asked disappointedly.

"Not enough" Scott bemoaned. "The gym's alright but that's just for exercise. We're not really allowed out so unless you run and stuff, you go a bit crazy. Well, I do. Then there's _this _place, which as you can see isn't exactly the Nu Bar"

The canteen was about half-full, and Scott chose an empty table by the wall. Looking around, Ian realised that he hadn't seen such a bunch of pale, weak-looking, ill-humoured human beings since… well, since a particularly horrible mission involving a foreign prison.

"I see what you mean" he whispered to Scott as they sat down. "Grim lot, aren't they?"

Scott nodded around a mouthful of food. "I think it's cos there's no windows" he mumbled. "People need light. Without light and fresh air, you become…like them…"

"How long have you been here?" Ian asked, digging into his own food, which was surprisingly good.

"Almost six months. Not long enough to go completely mad. Did you bring any pictures?"

"Pictures?"

"Yeah… you know, photographs, magazine cut-outs…"

Ian thought of the small photo of himself and Alex in his wallet. "Erm…No" he said. "Why?"

"I have this theory" Scott looked conspiratorial. "If you see the outside say, three times a day, it keeps your mood up. You don't get all pale and depressed. I have loads of National Geographics under my bed. I'm trying to run some tests but I don't know who to use as a subject…"

_Under his bed?_ Ian got the impression the boy was actually slightly crazy. _Who keeps nature porn underneath their bed?_

"Count me out" he said, shaking his head. "I'm not mad yet"

Scott sighed. "Ah well. Y'know, there are some people who've been here like, twelve years"

"Really?" _Twelve years. Here?_

"Yeah, rumour has it, that guy over there…"

Scott pointed to a little wrinkled man hunched over a bowl of soup at the next table. "He's never seen the light of day"

"Oh no…"

"Oh yes. And don't even get me started on the women"

Ian looked round thoughtfully. "What women?"

"Exactly"

_Oh God_ Ian thought. _This is some kind of purgatory…_He wondered what he could possibly have done to anger Mr. Blunt so much that he got sent here.

"Also, corridor 10 is supposed to be haunted"

Ian perked up. Hauntings sounded fun.

"Haunted how?"

Scott just shrugged. "Strange noises, bumps in the night, glowing _orbs_, that kind of thing"

"Hmm…well, my tour only included about three rooms" Ian mused. "What else is here?"

"Ah, you're a lowly technician" Scott smiled. "Like myself. We only need to see about three rooms"

"What else is there?"

Ian already knew, of course, but it was useful to get an employee's idea of the place. Someone who had worked there a while was likely to know things that didn't appear on a simple map of the complex. Like unexplained hauntings, for example.

"Well, there are three labs, and one supply office where the technicians work. I'm the technician for Lab 2, you're Lab 1, and Christian, who's a complete weirdo by the way, is Lab 3. Then there are about a dozen storerooms, each at the end of a secure corridor. Corridor 13 leads to the Quiet Chamber, and that's it"

"You're allowed to tell me all that?"

Scott shrugged again. "Just because you're not allowed in doesn't mean you can't know they're there. Nothing interesting down there anyway. If there was, this lot wouldn't look so glum. At least, that's what I figure"

Ian nodded his agreement. "What's the Quiet Chamber?" That hadn't been on the map he'd memorised.

"I'm not sure. I heard Christian mention it one day. To be honest I think he was annoyed that I overheard. Only the Controller goes there"

"Who's he?"

Ian studied Scott carefully. He looked uncomfortable, like he was having second thoughts about mentioning the room. _Might be worth investigating, especially if only the Controller uses it…_

"There" Scott said. "By the door"

A huge blonde man was stood where Scott pointed, talking to another scientist in a white coat. He wore a dark suit, practically burst out of it, in fact. All of his features were strong and prominent atop a thick neck. He fairly exuded physical power, but Ian couldn't place his age to within ten years. 30-50 was his best guess.

"Big bloke" Ian remarked.

"Yeah" Scott agreed. "Don't get on his bad side"

Ian started to laugh, then trailed off as he saw Scott's look. "What?"

"I'm not kidding" Scott said. "He runs this place like a ship, and he has a temper. Everyone tries to stay out of his way"

Ian searched for something to say, but before he could reply a tray thudded down next to his own, followed by a dark-haired woman. Her hair was in a bun at the back of her head, but she brushed a loose strand away from her face in annoyance.

"Hi" she said, and stabbed a fork into her food.

"Hi Julia. This is Luke Bosworth"

"Nice to meet you" Julia said, putting out a hand for Ian to shake. She met his bemused gaze. "Sorry, I'm in a hurry. Got a meeting at one"

"Who with?" Scott asked.

"Controller" Julia shovelled more food, and Scott grimaced.

"Ouch"

"Yeah, wish me luck. What do you do?" she addressed Ian, who was watching her curiously.

_She looks normal enough_ he noted. "I'm the new technician for Lab 1" he said. Julia smiled.

"Great, we've needed you for about a month. I work in Lab 1" she explained.

"Ah…" Ian smiled and exchanged a glance with Scott, who raised his eyebrows.

"What's the meeting about?" Scott asked.

"Eh, some results the Controller didn't like" Julia sighed heavily. "I spent all last week working on these tests but he doesn't agree with my findings so he wants to know what went wrong" She shook her head and Scott looked sympathetic.

"Did anything go wrong?"

"Not in my opinion. We'll see. I have to go!"

The clock on the far wall of the canteen read one o'clock, and the Controller had gone from the doorway. Julia picked up her half-finished meal and waved at the two men. "See you later. Nice to meet you Luke!"

Scott watched her go and sighed. Ian grinned mirthfully, he sounded like a lovesick puppy. With that hair, and dark-framed glasses over big blue eyes, legs ending in killer heels, Julia lookedevery incha naughty schoolmistress.

_Which is probably exactly what Scott's thinking_ Ian decided.

"That was a woman" he remarked.

"Yeah, so there's _one_ woman" Scott agreed. "But she's not interested. It's not exactly a single's bar down here"

"How long has she been here?" Ian had decided she didn't look crazy enough to have been there long.

"Longer than me… seven or eight months" Scott said.

"Oh" _Probably is crazy then..._

"Hmm. Well, we should get going too. Have you put your stuff away?"

"Erm… I think Hansom said it'd be put in my room"

"Right, well, I'll show you round the Supply Room." He got up and carried his tray to a receptacle by the door. "The job'ssimple enough, when one of the scientists asks for something, we take it to them"

"Think I can manage that" Ian said.

"It's passing the time in between that's difficult" Ian sighed. "Hey, have you ever played chair hockey?"

* * *

A/N:Having just seen the film, Ian wason screenjustlong enough to make me interested and then **bang!** I'd hopedthere were Ian fics but finding none, decided to write my own. Please review, keeps me going!

Hoonah: I will join the campaignfor more Ian fics. I hope this one goes in a good direction...I had an idea for a different mission too so maybe one day i'll write that one. Since we know almost nothing about the character there's really a lot of scope!


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